I have an old 745 minitower(personal use) sitting around and I was thinking of upgrading the CPU and Video card so that I can play Diablo III on it. From my research it seems the best video card is a Radeon HD6670 and the best CPU is either a Core 2 duo e6600/e6700 or Core 2 Quad q6600/q6700. I have read that a standard ATX PSU will work with the minitower so I will be upgrading this as well.

Has anyone had any experience fiddling with this model? I am particulary interested in the possibility of a quad core cpu. I have seen a couple different posts about it working but something just seems off to me.

I wanted this under the water cooler group, since its for personal use, but that wasn't an option.

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The issue with the mini tower is that a standard size power supply will not fit in the mini tower case. From the research i did, most games will not utilize a quad core CPU so save your money and get the Core 2 DUO. Also, make sure to get a faster hard drive if yours is not 7200 RPM now, it does make a difference.

Before you purchase the add-in hardware be sure to check the motherboard for bad capacitors. That model was made when Dell was having the major capacitor issues and most of them were affected. Look at the tops of the capacitors and see if any are bulging, if so then you will need to repair the board before you add the other parts to the system or you will have lockups and other problems when the system gets hot or stressed.

Before you purchase the add-in hardware be sure to check the motherboard for bad capacitors. That model was made when Dell was having the major capacitor issues and most of them were affected. Look at the tops of the capacitors and see if any are bulging, if so then you will need to repair the board before you add the other parts to the system or you will have lockups and other problems when the system gets hot or stressed.

Gary I didn't even think of the games not utilizing the CPUs, thank you. Are you sure about the power supply? The minitower is what Dell calls the biggest form factor the 745 comes in. Its actually a midtower. I was thinking of getting a SSD for the OS and whatever games and have another HD for storage.

Buddy, a friend of mine brought that up as well, he owns a fix it shop and sees that all the time with these. I was going to check on it tonight. I was planning on modding the case to add another fan or two to help with cooling.

It looks to me, according to the pictures on the website, that the "mini tower" is a standard-sized(mid) tower. It should take a standard power supply unless there's a "physical" proprietary obstacle. Of course, you can probably mod the case if you need to.

If you're going to be upgrading the power supply, CPU, graphics card, etc... These are pretty much 3 of the 4 most expensive pieces of a computer. The motherboard being the other one. I would probably just go with a barebone system and salvage what I can from the Optiplex. Or, do a completely new build and use the Optiplex as a Linux play-toy.

Our Dell 745s are mid-tower and I thought the smaller version was mini-tower size. It looks like the terms get moved around a lot from one model to another. Some mini-towers are mid-towers and other mini-towers are Small Form Factors that definitely will not take a standard power supply.

It looks to me, according to the pictures on the website, that the "mini tower" is a standard-sized(mid) tower. It should take a standard power supply unless there's a "physical" proprietary obstacle. Of course, you can probably mod the case if you need to.

If you're going to be upgrading the power supply, CPU, graphics card, etc... These are pretty much 3 of the 4 most expensive pieces of a computer. The motherboard being the other one. I would probably just go with a barebone system and salvage what I can from the Optiplex. Or, do a completely new build and use the Optiplex as a Linux play-toy.

From what I've seen on a couple different forums the minitower as Dell calls it can use a standard ATX PSU. Unless Gary has personal experience with it not working I'm going to assume it does.

The reason I'm not going for a barebones system is that I can get away with this for under $200.(minus the SSD which I can use later) Especially since I'm getting a duo instead of a quad. I've never seen a barebones system for that much that would be worth it. And I have a second 745 that is my Linux play-toy.

I hadn't realized the dual cores had come down so much in price. Not a big fan of ATI, so I wasn't sure how much that card you suggested was either. You said it was the best? Or, the best you can put in it? When I think of "the best" card, I'm usually looking at $200+ easily. I'm kind of a snob when it comes to power supplies, mainly because I've been burned by cheap ones so often, so I tend to high-ball power supplies as well.

Under $200 is a good deal, then. Definitely worth it to do the upgrade on the existing machine. Should scream with all that and a SSD. Have fun! Hopefully, you enjoy the tinkering process as much as I do. :D

Its the best that will go into the the system, and not be bottlenecked by the CPU, as far as I've seen. I agree on the ATI point. I've never had a card that wasn't Nvidia, but looking on several forums that card specifically is pointed to as the best for the system. I hear you on the power supplys too I've because of dirty power at my parent's house I've killed a few. I'm getting a Thermaltake TR2 for $45. In my experience Thermaltake makes good stuff.

Its the best that will go into the the system, and not be bottlenecked by the CPU, as far as I've seen. I agree on the ATI point. I've never had a card that wasn't Nvidia, but looking on several forums that card specifically is pointed to as the best for the system. I hear you on the power supplys too I've because of dirty power at my parent's house I've killed a few. I'm getting a Thermaltake TR2 for $45. In my experience Thermaltake makes good stuff.

Thermaltake is absolutely a good power supply. It's one of the very few I will buy. I remember the good 'ole days where you could pretty much plug in any power supply and it would last far longer than any other part in the machine. Those days are long gone.

The i3 is going to have better OoTB performance, but the A6 supports Crossfire with the APU, so upgrading is going to pack a bigger punch.

I would like to go this route but I would never buy a prefab desktop (the 745s were going to be junked and I salvaged them.) And when I would shop for the parts I would winde up spending more money than I have. This only has to last me until next year's tax refund anyway.

1st Post

hi im using the gigabit hd7750 2gb had to modify the case to fit but runs really well runs most games at full specs using 1366x768 resolution just upgraded to 6 gig ram looking at upgrading cpu a lot of new games are now recomending quad core cpu's dell says u cant use one but have seen a few posts on the net saying that u can

1st Post

hello I came across this conversation while looking for an upgrade for my OptiPlex 745 mini tower psu. Hopefully I can get some help with this, my video card need a 400 wat psu and I have the stock 305 watt. I have found a standard upgrade but I really don't want to skimp on the psu im looking for a 80 plus cert but having a hard time finding one with the right dimensions. I am just getting to the point were everything I read blurs together.

please help !!!!!!

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